top of page

Daigo Game

Design for the real audience behind the wishlists

​

Once upon a time

Overview

Cricket: Jae’s Really Peculiar Game was a passion project with unique visuals and battle systems, but it underperformed at launch with our target audience. I analyzed the problem and proposed a low risk, fast to build game aimed at our unexpected existing audience instead of chasing a niche demographic

One day

The Problem

​​Wishlist ≠ Revenue: 

​​Poor conversion between wishlist and sales. 

​

​Demo design flaw:

A 20-minute demo did not draw players at conventions

​​Brand confusion:

​The name and marketing didn’t stand out. “Cricket” was unsearchable.

​

Something fast, low-budget, and capable of turning passive fans into paying players.

​​Studio needed a win:

Screenshot_2025-05-09_135905.png

​

According to social media insights, women in their 20s - 30s are our top viewers, not our original target demographic

We were not reaching our intended audience, but we were reaching someone.

The opportunity was clear:

​

Build for them

And because of that

Hypothesis 

There is a genre and art style mismatch which is confusing the audience 

​

  • Women in their 20s - 30s might be drawn to the art but not the genre

  • Our target audience might see our art and not understand the game was made for them

Insights & Market Trends

I was aware there was an uptick in cozy games and female gaming influences in the recent years.

46% of gamers are female, up nearly 10% over the past decade and the average age of female gamers is 32.​

Entertainment Weekly

Iona, 30, is a full-time gaming video creator who shares cosy game reviews to her online audience. Out of her 136,000 YouTube subscribers, 75% are listed as female

Cosmopolitan

There is an increasing popularity of cozy, low-stress titles, with Google searches for “cozy games” reaching an all-time high in 2024​

My journal courier

As the gaming industry expanded to include more low-pressure experiences, the percentage of women identifying as gamers rose over the past decade.

Market Analysis

Games did not always have to be big and ambitious to succeed 

gssgsgds.png

These games are accessible, visually memorable, and light on mechanics while rich in emotion, humor or charm.​

Competitive Analysis

I also did a competitive analysis between our game and the game next to us that gathered a lot of attention during PAX.

fhgdfgsd.png

​​Extremely Powerful Capybaras nailed marketing

Used high reward merchandise and quick demo. They gained a lot of attention during PAX.​

​However

they lacked long term player satisfaction, polish and post launch support.

Cricket: Jae’s Really Peculiar Game struggled to attract players

many did not finish the demo.

the developers put a lot of care into player satisfaction and just struggled to properly market the product.

However

Goal 

Create a quick-to-play, visually appealing, and easily marketable game that aligns with our audience who are already engaging with the studio.

And because of that

Ideation

DaigoGame03.png
DaigoGame01.png
DaigoGame.png
moodboard.png
moodboarddsfs.png

Daigo Snake Game

  • Play as hand (snake) trying to pet Daigo (shiba inu)

  • Simple hide-and-dodge mechanic using furniture and dog toys.

  • Matches existing studio aesthetic and humor.

Timeline Estimate: 4-5 months

  • Save time on character design

  • Easy animation with simple assets

  • Use existing game engine

Cheap to make, quick to make,

low risk, potential high reward.

Reasons

​​Build a fast, marketable experience while using studio's strengths

Polish, bug-free, strong animation, and audience engagement

​Use the studio mascot

No need to design new characters

​​Evokes humor and relatability

Shibas avoiding pets is a universal internet truth

​​Unique name

"Daigo" returns clean in Steam search

​Instant merch appeal

Stickers, plush, shirts are low cost marketing.

​​Built for convention demo

5-10 minutes to test game

​​Art style consistency with studio's existing work

Appealing visual continuity

Until Finally

First Prototype

We tested with four players 2 male, 2 female aged 29-35

​"You have something here"

  • All players played through the entire 9 levels, each took about 5-10mins. 

  • All players found the core mechanic satisfying.

  • Some players felt controls felt chunky. 

  • Some players wanted more humor. 

  • Both female players expressed they would pay for this game.

You can’t force an audience, but you can listen and pivot

Constraints

  • The initial prototype was tested with a broader, non-target demographic

  • Time and budget

  • Split attention: with multiple projects we couldn't fully commit all our attention to this game.

  • Studio closure resulted in halting this project.

What I'd Improve

  • I would have liked to test with the target demographic.

  •  Would have liked to see this through, continue to test and improve with user feedback. 

  • I would have liked to market the game, see how much traction we can gain as we built the game.

bottom of page